Nuclear powers are giving up their stockpiles: what awaits the Nuclear Club?

Nuclear (or atomic) weapons are the presence of the entire nuclear arsenal, its means of transportation, as well as control hardware. Such weapons are classified as weapons of mass destruction - weapons of mass destruction. The explosive action of the so-called “rusty death” weapon is based on the principle of using some of the qualities possessed by nuclear energy released as a result of a nuclear or thermonuclear reaction.

Types of nuclear weapons

All nuclear weapons available on the globe can be divided into two types:

  • Atomic weapons are single-phase type explosive mechanisms. During the fission of heavy nuclei of plutonium or uranium 235, energy is released;
  • Thermonuclear weapon is an explosive mechanism with a two-phase type. During the impact of the first phase, the release of energy occurs due to the fission of heavy nuclei. During the operation of the second phase, a phase with thermonuclear fusion is connected to fission reactions. In the process of proportional composition of reactions, the types of these weapons are determined.

From the history of the emergence of nuclear weapons

In 1889, the Curie couple made a grand discovery in the scientific world. They discovered a hitherto unknown substance in a piece of uranium that released a colossal amount of energy.

After this discovery, events developed as follows. E. Rutherford studied the basic properties of atoms. E. Walton and D. Cockroft were the first in the world to carry out the splitting of the atomic nucleus. And already in 1934, scientist Leo Szilard registered a patent for the creation of an atomic bomb.

The purpose for which atomic weapons were created is very trivial - world domination, with the intimidation and destruction of one’s enemies. So, when the Second was already underway World War, scientists in Germany, the Soviet Union and the United States were studying scientific research and nuclear weapons development. These three largest and most powerful states, actively participating in hostilities, attempted to achieve victory at any cost. Moreover, if at that time they had managed to use these weapons as a key factor in victory, then they could have been used more than once in other military conflicts.

Nuclear powers of the world for 2018

The states that currently possess nuclear weapons are secretly called the Nuclear Club.

The following are considered legitimate within the international legal framework:

  • United States of America (USA);
  • Russia (which received nuclear weapons from the USSR after its collapse);
  • France;
  • Great Britain;
  • China.

The following are considered illegitimate:

There is another state - Israel. Officially, it does not have its own nuclear weapons. However, the world community is of the opinion that Israel should take its place in the Nuclear Club.

However, it is possible that there may be other participants on this list. Many world states had nuclear programs, but some of them gave up the idea later, and some are still working on them to this day. In some states, such weapons are supplied by other countries, for example, the United States. Exact amount weapons and how many nuclear powers possess these weapons in the world is not known. However, approximately twenty and a half thousand nuclear warheads are scattered throughout the globe.

In 1968, they signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Later, in 1986, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed. However, not all states decided to sign and ratify (legalize) these documents. Thus, the threat to the world is still real. Moreover, no matter how strange it may sound, at present the presence of nuclear weapons is a guarantee of peace, a deterrent that can protect against aggression, which is why many states are so eager to acquire them.

United States Arsenal

Today, the United States has an arsenal of 1,654 warheads. The United States is armed with bombs, warheads, and shells. All this is used in military aviation, the submarine fleet, and also in artillery.

At the end of World War II, the United States produced over sixty-six thousand bombs with warheads, but already in 1997 the production of new types of nuclear weapons was completely stopped. By 2010, the United States arsenal consisted of more than five thousand nuclear weapons. Since 2013, their number has decreased to 1,654 units according to the project, which involved a reduction in nuclear potential.

As the unofficial world leader, the United States has the status of a nuclear power and, according to the 1968 treaty, as part of five states, it legitimately possesses nuclear weapons.

Russia (former USSR) is the second nuclear power

Russia currently has 1,480 warheads and 367 nuclear delivery vehicles. This ammunition is intended for use by missile forces, naval strategic forces and strategic aviation. For last decade Russia's military nuclear stockpile decreased significantly, by 12% per year. Due to the signing of an agreement on mutual disarmament, by 2012 it was supposed to decrease by 2/3.

Today, the Russian Federation, as the successor to the USSR, is one of the main members of the 1968 agreements on nuclear weapons and possesses them legally. In the current global political and economic situation, Russia is being opposed to the United States and European states. However, with such a serious arsenal, you can defend your independent positions on geopolitical issues.

French nuclear potential

France currently has approximately 300 strategic warheads, as well as approximately 60 air-launched tactical multiprocessors. All this can be used by submarines and aircraft. For a long time, France had to strive to be independent in matters of its own weapons. She was developing her own supercomputer and conducting nuclear tests until 1998. France was no longer involved in nuclear weapons.

British nuclear capability

The UK has 225 nuclear warheads. Of these, over 160 are in combat readiness and are located on submarines. No one has accurate information about the weapons of the British army. They do not disclose the exact size of their nuclear arsenal. The UK has no desire to increase its nuclear stockpile, nor to reduce it. It is guided by a policy of deterring allied and neutral states from using these weapons.

Chinese nuclear potential

According to American experts, the Chinese have approximately 240 warheads. Although according to official data, the Chinese military has approximately 40 intercontinental missiles, which are controlled by artillery and submariners. In addition, the Chinese army has approximately 1,000 short-range missiles.

Chinese authorities do not disclose precise information about their arsenal. They state that their nuclear weapons are expected to be maintained at the lowest level that is safe. Moreover, the Chinese authorities say that they will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, and in relation to non-nuclear states they will not use them at all. Such statements are only welcomed by the international community.

Indian nuclear potential

According to some estimates, India does not officially have nuclear weapons. India currently has approximately 30 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, as well as enough materials to make 90 more.

In addition, the Indian Army has short-range missiles, ballistic missiles medium range, extended-range missiles. Being an illegal owner atomic weapons, the Indian authorities do not officially declare their nuclear policy, this causes negative reactions in the world community.

Pakistani nuclear potential

It is known from unofficial sources that the Pakistani army has almost 200 nuclear warheads. There is no exact information about the types of their weapons. World community on nuclear tests reacted as harshly as possible. Pakistan has been subject to economic sanctions by almost all major world states. The exception was Saudi Arabia, which supplied the state with approximately fifty thousand barrels of oil per day.

North Korea is a new generation nuclear power

North Korea is a state that officially possesses nuclear weapons, and in this regard, in 2012, it amended its Constitution. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea owns single-stage medium-range missiles and the Musudan missile mobile system.

The reaction of the international community to the creation and testing of nuclear weapons has been extremely negative. The lengthy six-party negotiations are still ongoing, and the state is subject to an economic embargo. However, the North Korean authorities are in no hurry to abandon the creation of their nuclear shield.

Should we give up nuclear weapons?

Nuclear weapons are one of the most terrible types of destruction of the population and economic potential of a hostile state. This is a weapon that destroys everything in its path. Aware of the seriousness of the presence of such weapons, the governments of many states (especially the “Nuclear Club”) are taking a wide variety of measures to reduce the number of these weapons, as well as guarantees for their non-use.

In recent months, North Korea and the United States have been actively exchanging threats to destroy each other. Since both countries have nuclear arsenals, the world is closely monitoring the situation. On the Day of the Struggle for the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, we decided to remind you who has them and in what quantities. Today, it is officially known that eight countries that form the so-called Nuclear Club have such weapons.

Who exactly has nuclear weapons?

The first and only state to use nuclear weapons against another country is USA. In August 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The attack killed more than 200 thousand people.


Nuclear mushroom over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right). Source: wikipedia.org

Year of first test: 1945

Nuclear warheads: submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers

Number of warheads: 6800, including 1800 deployed (ready for use)

Russia has the largest nuclear stockpile. After the collapse of the Union, Russia became the only heir to the nuclear arsenal.

Year of first test: 1949

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines, missile systems, heavy bombers, and in the future - nuclear trains

Number of warheads: 7,000, including 1,950 deployed (ready for use)

Great Britain is the only country that has not conducted a single test on its territory. The country has 4 submarines with nuclear warheads; other types of troops were disbanded by 1998.

Year of first test: 1952

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines

Number of warheads: 215, including 120 deployed (ready for use)

France conducted ground tests of a nuclear charge in Algeria, where it built a test site for this.

Year of first test: 1960

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines and fighter-bombers

Number of warheads: 300, including 280 deployed (ready for use)

China tests weapons only on its territory. China has pledged not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. China in the transfer of technology for the production of nuclear weapons to Pakistan.

Year of first test: 1964

Nuclear charge carriers: ballistic launch vehicles, submarines and strategic bombers

Number of warheads: 270 (in reserve)

India announced the possession of nuclear weapons in 1998. In the Indian Air Force, nuclear weapons carriers can be French and Russian tactical fighters.

Year of first test: 1974

Nuclear charge carriers: short, medium and extended range missiles

Number of warheads: 120−130 (in reserve)

Pakistan tested its weapons in response to Indian actions. The reaction to the emergence of nuclear weapons in the country was global sanctions. Recently ex-president Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan was considering inflicting nuclear strike across India in 2002. Bombs can be delivered by fighter-bombers.

Year of first test: 1998

Number of warheads: 130−140 (in reserve)

DPRK announced the development of nuclear weapons in 2005, and conducted its first test in 2006. In 2012, the country declared itself a nuclear power and made corresponding amendments to the Constitution. IN Lately The DPRK conducts a lot of tests - the country has intercontinental ballistic missiles and threatens the United States with a nuclear strike on the American island of Guam, which is located 4 thousand km from the DPRK.


Year of first test: 2006

Nuclear charge carriers: nuclear bombs and missiles

Number of warheads: 10−20 (in reserve)

These 8 countries openly declare the presence of weapons, as well as the tests being carried out. The so-called "old" nuclear powers(USA, Russia, UK, France and China) signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the “young” nuclear powers - India and Pakistan - refused to sign the document. North Korea first ratified the agreement and then withdrew its signature.

Who can develop nuclear weapons now?

The main "suspect" is Israel. Experts believe that Israel has owned nuclear weapons of its own production since the late 1960s and early 1970s. There were also opinions that the country conducted joint tests with South Africa. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Israel has about 80 nuclear warheads as of 2017. The country can use fighter-bombers and submarines to deliver nuclear weapons.

Suspicions that Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction, was one of the reasons for the invasion of the country by American and British troops (recall the famous speech of US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN in 2003, in which he stated that Iraq was working on programs to create biological and chemical weapons and possessed two of three necessary components for the production of nuclear weapons. - Note TUT.BY). Later, the US and UK admitted that there were reasons for the invasion in 2003.

Was under international sanctions for 10 years Iran due to the resumption of the uranium enrichment program in the country under President Ahmadinejad. In 2015, Iran and six international mediators entered into the so-called “nuclear deal” - they were withdrawn, and Iran pledged to limit its nuclear activities to “peaceful atoms” only, placing them under international control. With Donald Trump coming to power in the United States, Iran was reintroduced. Tehran, meanwhile, began.

Myanmar V last years also suspected of attempting to create nuclear weapons; it was reported that technology was exported to the country by North Korea. According to experts, Myanmar lacks the technical and financial capabilities to develop weapons.

IN different years many states were suspected of seeking or capable of creating nuclear weapons - Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Libya, Mexico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Sweden. But the transition from a peaceful atom to a non-peaceful one either was not proven, or the countries curtailed their programs.

Which countries allowed to store nuclear bombs and which refused?

Some European countries store US warheads. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in 2016, 150-200 US nuclear bombs are stored in underground storage facilities in Europe and Turkey. Countries have aircraft capable of delivering charges to intended targets.

Bombs are stored at air bases in Germany(Büchel, more than 20 pieces), Italy(Aviano and Gedi, 70−110 pieces), Belgium(Kleine Brogel, 10−20 pieces), the Netherlands(Volkel, 10−20 pieces) and Turkey(Incirlik, 50−90 pieces).

In 2015, it was reported that the Americans would deploy the latest B61-12 atomic bombs at a base in Germany, and American instructors were training Polish and Baltic Air Force pilots to operate these nuclear weapons.

The United States recently announced that it was negotiating the deployment of its nuclear weapons, where they were stored until 1991.

Four countries voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons on their territory, including Belarus.

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were in third and fourth place in the world in terms of the number of nuclear arsenals in the world. The countries agreed to the withdrawal of weapons to Russia under international security guarantees. Kazakhstan transferred strategic bombers to Russia, and sold uranium to the United States. In 2008, the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev was nominated for Nobel Prize world for its contribution to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine in recent years there has been talk of restoring the country's nuclear status. In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada proposed repealing the law “On Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” Previously Secretary of the Council national security Ukraine's Alexander Turchynov stated that Kyiv is ready to use available resources to create effective weapons.

IN Belarus ended in November 1996. Subsequently, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko more than once called this decision the most serious mistake. In his opinion, “if there were nuclear weapons left in the country, they would be talking to us differently now.”

South Africa is the only country that independently produced nuclear weapons, and after the fall of the apartheid regime voluntarily abandoned them.

Who curtailed their nuclear programs

A number of countries voluntarily, and some under pressure, either curtailed or abandoned their nuclear program at the planning stage. For example, Australia in the 1960s, after providing its territory for nuclear testing, Great Britain decided to build reactors and build a uranium enrichment plant. However, after internal political debates, the program was curtailed.

Brazil after unsuccessful cooperation with Germany in the development of nuclear weapons in the 1970–90s, it conducted a “parallel” nuclear program outside the control of the IAEA. Work was carried out on the extraction of uranium, as well as on its enrichment, albeit at the laboratory level. In the 1990s and 2000s, Brazil recognized the existence of such a program, and it was later closed. The country now has nuclear technology, which, if a political decision is made, will allow it to quickly begin developing weapons.

Argentina began its development in the wake of rivalry with Brazil. The program received its greatest boost in the 1970s when the military came to power, but by the 1990s the administration had changed to a civilian one. When the program was terminated, experts estimated that about a year of work remained to achieve the technological potential of creating nuclear weapons. As a result, in 1991, Argentina and Brazil signed an agreement on the use of nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, after unsuccessful attempts to purchase ready-made weapons from China and Pakistan, she decided on her own nuclear program. In the 1990s, Libya was able to purchase 20 centrifuges for uranium enrichment, but a lack of technology and qualified personnel prevented the creation of nuclear weapons. In 2003, after negotiations with the UK and the US, Libya curtailed its weapons of mass destruction program.

Egypt abandoned the nuclear program after the accident Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Taiwan carried out his developments for 25 years. In 1976, under pressure from the IAEA and the United States, it officially abandoned the program and dismantled the plutonium separation facility. However, he later resumed nuclear research in secret. In 1987, one of the leaders of the Zhongshan Institute of Science and Technology fled to the United States and spoke about the program. As a result, work was stopped.

In 1957 Switzerland created a Commission to study the possibility of possessing nuclear weapons, which came to the conclusion that weapons were necessary. Options were considered for purchasing weapons from the USA, Great Britain or the USSR, as well as developing them with France and Sweden. ABOUT However, by the end of the 1960s the situation in Europe had calmed down, and Switzerland signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Then for some time the country supplied nuclear technologies abroad.

Sweden has been actively developing since 1946. Her distinctive feature was the creation of nuclear infrastructure, the country's leadership was focused on the implementation of the concept of a closed nuclear fuel cycle. As a result, by the end of the 1960s, Sweden was ready for mass production of nuclear warheads. In the 1970s, the nuclear program was closed because... the authorities decided that the country would not be able to cope with simultaneous development modern species conventional weapons and the creation of a nuclear arsenal.

South Korea began its development in the late 1950s. In 1973, the Weapons Research Committee developed a 6-10 year plan to develop nuclear weapons. Negotiations were conducted with France on the construction of a plant for the radiochemical reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel and the separation of plutonium. However, France refused to cooperate. In 1975, South Korea ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States promised to provide the country with a “nuclear umbrella.” After American President Carter announced his intention to withdraw troops from Korea, the country secretly resumed its nuclear program. The work continued until 2004, when it became public knowledge. South Korea has curtailed its program, but today the country is capable of developing nuclear weapons in a short time.

The arms race in the 20th century encouraged powers to develop under the plausible pretext of deterring nuclear attacks. In fact, some countries categorically deny their involvement in combat tests, even though indirect evidence indicates the presence of a nuclear arsenal on their territory.

But, whatever the position, scientists and ordinary mortals interested in the issue understand: if the bombing begins, then the historical “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 will seem like an amateur performance in comparison with that fiery cauldron , which will begin on the planet. Considering the current capabilities of the nuclear arsenal of some countries. Whatever one may say, the most powerful nuclear bomb was made under the USSR.

Nuclear arsenal of countries, number of nuclear warheads by country 2017/2018

A country Nuclear program Number of nuclear arsenal (warheads)
Second country to develop nuclear weapons. It has the largest arsenal of any country and is investing heavily in modernizing its warheads and launch vehicles. 7000
The first country to develop nuclear weapons and the only country to use them in war. The US spends the most on its nuclear arsenal. 6800
Most nuclear warheads are carried on submarines equipped with M45 and M51 missiles. One boat is on patrol 24/7. Some warheads are launched from aircraft. 300
China has a much smaller arsenal than the US and Russia. Its warheads are launched from the air, from land and from sea. China is increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal. 270
It maintains a fleet of four nuclear submarines in Scotland, each with 16 Trident missiles. The UK Parliament voted in 2016 to modernize its nuclear forces. 215
It is significantly improving its nuclear arsenal and related infrastructure. In recent years, it has increased the size of its nuclear arsenal. 120-130
India has developed nuclear weapons in violation of non-proliferation obligations. It increases the size of the nuclear arsenal and expands launch capabilities. 110-120
It maintains a policy of ambiguity regarding its nuclear arsenal, neither confirming nor denying its existence. As a result, there is little information or discussion about it. 80
North Korea has a new nuclear program. Its arsenal probably contains fewer than 10 warheads. It is unclear whether he has the capacity to deliver them. We wrote the nuclear bomb of North Korea. 10
Total 14900 warheads

Nuclear Club list of countries

Russia

  • Russia received most of its atomic weapons after the collapse of the USSR, when mass disarmament and removal of nuclear warheads to Russia were carried out at the military bases of the former Soviet republics.
  • Officially, the country has a nuclear resource of 7,000 warheads and ranks first in the world in terms of weapons, of which 1,950 are deployed.
  • First test former Soviet Union carried out in 1949 with a ground launch of an RDS-1 rocket from the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan.
  • The Russian position regarding nuclear weapons is to use them in response to a similar attack. Or in case of attacks with conventional weapons, if this threatens the existence of the country.

USA

  • The case of two missiles dropped on two cities in Japan in 1945 is the first and only example of a combat atomic attack. Thus, the United States became the first country to implement nuclear explosion. Today it is also the country with the most powerful army in the world. Official estimates report 6,800 active units, with 1,800 deployed in combat status.
  • The last US nuclear test was carried out in 1992. The US takes the position that it has sufficient weapons to protect itself and allied countries from attack.

France

  • After World War II, the country did not pursue the goal of developing its own weapons of mass destruction. However, after the Vietnam War and the loss of its colonies in Indochina, the country's government reconsidered its views, and since 1960 it conducted nuclear tests, first in Algeria, and then on two uninhabited coral islands in French Polynesia.
  • In total, the country conducted 210 tests, the most powerful of which were the Canopus in 1968 and the Unicorn in 1970. There is information about the presence of 300 nuclear warheads, 280 of which are located on deployed carriers.
  • The scale of the global armed confrontation clearly demonstrated that the longer the French government ignores peaceful initiatives to curb weapons, the better for France. Even France acceded to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty proposed by the UN in 1996 only in 1998.

China

  • China. China conducted its first test of an atomic weapon, codenamed “596,” in 1964, opening the way to becoming one of the five residents of the Nuclear Club.
  • Modern China has 270 warheads in storage. Since 2011, the country has adopted a policy of minimal weapons, which will be used only in case of danger. And the developments of Chinese military scientists are in no way behind the leaders in weapons, Russia and the United States, and since 2011 they have presented to the world four new modifications of ballistic weapons with the ability to load them with nuclear warheads.
  • There is a joke that China is based on the number of its compatriots, who make up the largest diaspora in the world, when talking about the “minimum necessary” number of combat units.

Great Britain

  • Great Britain, like a true lady, although it is one of the leading Five nuclear powers, has not practiced such indecency as atomic testing on its own territory. All tests were carried out away from British lands, in Australia and in the Pacific Ocean.
  • She began her nuclear career in 1952 with the activation of a nuclear bomb with a yield of more than 25 kilotons of TNT on board the frigate Plym, anchored near Pacific Islands Montebello. In 1991, testing was stopped. Officially, the country has 215 charges, of which 180 are located on deployed carriers.
  • The UK actively opposes the use of nuclear ballistic missiles, although there was a precedent in 2015, when Prime Minister David Cameron cheered up the international community with the message that the country, if desired, could demonstrate the launch of a couple of charges. The minister did not specify in which direction the nuclear greeting would fly.

Young nuclear powers

Pakistan

  • Pakistan. The common border with India and Pakistan prevents them from signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 1965, the country's foreign minister said that Pakistan would be ready to begin developing its own nuclear weapons if neighboring India began to do so. His determination was so serious that he promised to put the entire country on bread and water for the sake of protection from armed provocations of India.
  • Development of explosive devices has been ongoing for a long time, with variable funding and construction of facilities since 1972. The country conducted its first tests in 1998 at the Chagai training ground. There are about 120-130 nuclear warheads in storage in the country.
  • The emergence of a new player in the nuclear market forced many partner countries to impose a ban on the import of Pakistani goods into their territory, which could greatly undermine the country's economy. Fortunately for Pakistan, it had a number of unofficial sponsors who provided funds for nuclear testing. The largest revenues were oil from Saudi Arabia, imported into the country daily at 50 thousand barrels.

India

  • The homeland of the most cheerful films was pushed to participate in the nuclear race by its proximity to China and Pakistan. And if China has long been in the position of superpowers and does not pay attention to India, and does not particularly oppress "
  • Nuclear power prevented India from venturing out into the open from the very beginning, so the first test, codenamed “Smiling Buddha” in 1974, was carried out secretly, underground. All developments were so classified that the researchers even notified their own Minister of Defense about the tests at the last moment.
  • Officially, India admitted that yes, we sin, we have charges, only in the late 1990s. According to modern data, there are 110-120 units in storage in the country.

North Korea

  • North Korea. The favorite move of the United States - “showing strength” as an argument in negotiations - was very disliked by the DPRK government back in the mid-1950s. At that time, the United States actively intervened in the Korean War, allowing the atomic bombing of Pyongyang. The DPRK learned its lesson and set a course for militarizing the country.
  • Together with the army, which today is the fifth largest in the world, Pyongyang is conducting nuclear research, which until 2017 was not particularly interesting to the world, since it took place under the auspices of space exploration, and relatively peacefully. Sometimes the neighboring lands of South Korea were shaken by medium-sized earthquakes of unknown origin, that’s all the troubles.
  • At the beginning of 2017, the “false” news in the media that the United States was sending its aircraft carriers to meaningless promenades off the Korean shores left a residue, and the DPRK, without much concealment, conducted six nuclear tests. Today the country has 10 nuclear units in storage.
  • How many other countries are conducting research on developing nuclear weapons is unknown. To be continued.

Suspicions of nuclear weapons storage

There are several known countries suspected of storing nuclear weapons:

  • Israel, like the old and wise Reve, is in no hurry to lay his cards on the table, but does not directly deny the presence of nuclear weapons. The “Non-Proliferation Treaty” has also not been signed, and it’s more invigorating than the morning snow. And all that the world has are only rumors about the nuclear tests that the Promised One allegedly conducted since 1979 together with South Africa in the South Atlantic and the presence of 80 nuclear warheads in storage.
  • Iraq, according to unverified data, has been storing an unknown number of nuclear weapons for an unknown number of years. “Simply because it can,” they said in the United States, and at the beginning of the 2000s, together with Great Britain, they sent troops into the country. Later they apologized heartily that they were “mistaken.” We didn't expect anything else, gentlemen.
  • Came under the same suspicions Iran, due to testing the “peaceful atom” for energy needs. This became the reason to impose sanctions on the country for 10 years. In 2015, Iran pledged to report on uranium enrichment research, and the country was released from sanctions.

Four countries cleared themselves of all suspicion by officially refusing to participate “in these races of yours.” Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine transferred all their capacities to Russia with the collapse of the USSR, although the President of Belarus A. Lukashenko sometimes sighs with a hint of nostalgia that “If only there were any weapons left, they would talk to us differently.” And South Africa, even though it once participated in the development of nuclear power, openly withdrew from the race and lives quietly.

Partly due to the contradictions of internal political forces that opposed nuclear policy, partly due to a lack of necessity. One way or another, some have transferred all power to the energy sector to cultivate the “peaceful atom”, and some have abandoned nuclear potential altogether (like Taiwan, after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine).

List of countries that have phased out nuclear programs:

  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Libya
  • Egypt
  • Taiwan
  • Switzerland
  • Sweden
  • South Korea

Who didn't have time

Terms are a delicate thing. The “nuclear club” is usually understood to mean only five states: the USA, Russia (as the legal successor of the USSR), Great Britain, France, and China. That's all! Both Israel, which traditionally neither denies nor confirms the presence of nuclear arsenals, and India and Pakistan, which demonstratively conducted nuclear tests and officially announced the presence of nuclear weapons, from the point of view of international law cannot receive the legal status of nuclear powers. The fact is that to join the club you do not need the consent of its current members, but a time machine. All countries that managed to conduct nuclear tests before January 1, 1967 automatically became nuclear powers. The chronology is as follows: the Americans - in 1945, we - four years later, the British and the French - in 1952 and 1960, respectively. China jumped into the “last carriage” - 1964.

Let us note that this state of affairs has always caused and still causes a feeling of indignation among some part of the nuclear-free nations. Nevertheless, 185 countries around the world accepted these rules of the game and signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This means that the door to the elite nuclear establishment has closed forever.

The situation is paradoxical: any country that does not recognize the mentioned Treaty formally has all the rights to create its own nuclear charge. And the members of the Treaty are also free to withdraw from it at any time - they just need to warn the others about this 90 days in advance.

Of course, the potential owner of the bomb will have to incur serious material costs, endure all kinds of international sanctions and, perhaps, even survive a military attack (at one time, the Iraqi nuclear program was literally buried by Israeli F-16s, destroying an Iraqi research center).

Nevertheless, particularly stubborn countries can still become owners of the coveted bomb. Approximately 40 states of the world today, figuratively speaking, are on the threshold: that is, they have the capabilities to produce national nuclear weapons. But only four dared to cross this threshold. In addition to the aforementioned Israel, India and Pakistan, North Korea considers itself a nuclear power. True, no intelligence agency in the world has reliable data that Pyongyang conducted at least one atomic bomb test. In this connection, some authoritative experts call the nuclear ambitions of the North Koreans a bluff. There are reasons for this. Thus, North Korea declared itself at the same time a great space power, declaring that it had launched a real satellite. But not a single tracking station recorded it in orbit. Which is quite strange, especially considering that, according to Pyongyang, their satellite was broadcasting revolutionary songs from near-Earth space.

Nuclear arsenals

There are fewer than 30 thousand warheads in nuclear arsenals today.

If we still assume that North Korea is not bluffing, then of this amount its hypothetical contribution is the most modest. A nuclear reactor was built 100 km north of the capital of North Korea with the help of the Chinese. It was suppressed twice under US pressure, but it was still estimated that during its operation it could have accumulated from 9 to 24 kg of weapons-grade plutonium. Experts believe that the production of one bomb, comparable in power to the charge that destroyed Hiroshima, requires from 1 to 3 kg of plutonium-239. Thus, the maximum that the North Korean army can have is 10 relatively low-power charges.

But if there are few bombs in the Juche homeland, then there are more than enough carriers. They are even in the development stage intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Experts attribute to Pakistan the presence of approximately 50 nuclear warheads. Older Scud-type ballistic missiles and more advanced Ghauri ballistic missiles can be used as carriers. In addition, Pakistani engineers independently equipped the existing F-16s with bomb racks for nuclear bombs.

India has approximately 50 to 100 nuclear bombs. Wide choice of carriers: nationally developed ballistic and cruise missiles, fighter-bombers.

Israel has a more substantial arsenal: approximately 200 charges. It is believed that Israel is equipped with nuclear-capable missiles on F-16 and F-15 aircraft, as well as Jericho-1 and Jericho-2 missiles with a range of up to 1,800 km. In addition, this country has the most advanced air and missile defense system in the Middle East.

The UK has about 200 warheads. All of them are located on four nuclear submarines armed with Trident II missiles. Previously, there were nuclear bombs in the arsenal of Tornado aircraft, but the British abandoned tactical nuclear weapons.

The French army and navy have 350 nuclear warheads: sea-launched missile warheads and aerial bombs that can be carried by Mirage 2000N tactical fighter-bombers and Super Etandar carrier-based attack aircraft.

Chinese generals have up to 300 strategic and up to 150 tactical charges at their disposal.

The United States today has over 7 thousand warheads on strategic carriers: land- and sea-based ballistic missiles, and on bombers, and up to 4 thousand tactical bombs. Total 11-12 thousand nuclear warheads.

Russia, according to Western experts, has approximately 18 thousand nuclear warheads, 2/3 of which are tactical. According to data provided to RG by Viktor Mikhailov, director of the Institute of Strategic Stability, in 2000, Russia's strategic nuclear forces had 5,906 warheads. Another 4,000 nuclear warheads are non-strategic and consist of tactical bombs, cruise missile warheads and torpedoes. According to experts from one of the most authoritative institutes in the world - the Swedish SIPRI, two years ago our strategic nuclear forces had 4852 warheads, of which 2916 were on 680 ICBMs, 1072 carried ballistic missiles from submarines. Also, 864 warheads were installed on air-to-ground cruise missiles. It should be borne in mind that there is a steady trend towards their further reduction. True, the accumulated world reserves of weapons-grade plutonium allow short term increase arsenals to 85 thousand charges.

Generally total The number of nuclear weapons available in the world today is known only approximately. But it is known with bomb accuracy that the arms race reached its apogee in 1986. At that time there were 69,478 thousand nuclear warheads on the planet.

Alas, we must admit that although there are fewer bombs, their carriers have become more advanced: more reliable, more accurate and almost invulnerable.

In addition, scientists are working on a fourth-generation bomb: a purely thermonuclear weapon in which the fusion reaction must be initiated by some alternative energy source. The fact is that current hydrogen bombs use a classic atomic explosion as a “fuse”, which produces the main radioactive fallout. If the “nuclear fuse” can be replaced with something, then the generals will receive a bomb that will be as powerful as the current thermonuclear ones, but within 1-2 days after its use, the radiation in the affected area will decrease to an acceptable level. Simply put, the territory is suitable for capture and use. Imagine what a temptation this is for the attacking side...

Bomb Refusers

Statements about the need to have nuclear weapons in service are heard from time to time even in countries whose nuclear-free status is seemingly unshakable. In Japan, high-ranking officials regularly speak out in favor of discussing the issue of nuclear weapons, after which they resign in scandal. From time to time, calls for the creation of the first “Arab atomic bomb” in Egypt are revived. There is also a scandal surrounding the secret program of nuclear research and experiments in South Korea, which has always served as an example of restraint compared to its northern neighbor.

Brazil, which we associate exclusively with Don Pedro and wild monkeys, is determined to launch in 2010... its own nuclear submarine. It is appropriate to remember that back in the 80s, the Brazilian military developed two designs of atomic charges with a yield of 20 and 30 kilotons, although the bombs were never assembled...

At the same time, several countries voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons.

In 1992, South Africa announced that it had eight nuclear warheads and invited IAEA inspectors to oversee their disposal.

Kazakhstan and Belarus voluntarily parted with weapons of mass destruction. After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine automatically became a powerful nuclear missile power. The Ukrainians had at their disposal 130 SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 46 SS-24 missiles and 44 heavy strategic bombers with cruise missiles. Note that, unlike other republics in the post-Soviet space, which also had nuclear arsenals, Ukraine had the ability to build ballistic missiles (for example, all the famous SS-18 Satan were produced in Dnepropetrovsk) and had a uranium deposit. And theoretically, she could well qualify for membership in the “nuclear club.”

Nevertheless, the Ukrainian ballistic missiles were destroyed under the control of American observers, and Kyiv transferred all 1,272 nuclear warheads to Russia. From 1996 to 1999, Ukraine also eliminated 29 Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers and 487 Kh-55 air-launched cruise missiles.

The Ukrainians kept one and only Tu-160 for themselves: for the Air Force Museum. It seems like they didn’t keep the nuclear bombs as a souvenir.

Evgeniy Avrorin, scientific director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics (Snezhinsk), full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

In general, the production of nuclear weapons is quite complex and subtle technology, which is used both in the production of fissile materials and directly in the creation of nuclear weapons. But when we carried out an analysis at our center regarding which states could create nuclear weapons, we came to the following conclusion: today absolutely any industrialized state can do this. Only a political decision is required. All information is quite accessible, nothing is unknown. The only question is technology and investing certain financial resources.

RG | Evgeniy Nikolaevich, it is widely believed that in order to enrich uranium, which is necessary for nuclear weapons, it is necessary to build a special plant with cascades of hundreds of thousands of centrifuges. At the same time, the cost of creating a nuclear fuel production cycle costs more than a billion dollars. Is technology really that expensive?

Evgeniy Avrorin | It depends on what we're talking about. Much less nuclear materials are needed to create weapons than to create advanced energy. Enrichment technology is, so to speak, fractional. Now it is no longer a secret that the most promising and advanced technology is the so-called “turntables,” which were best developed in the Soviet Union. These are very small devices, and each of them individually is very inexpensive. Yes, they are very low-performance. And in order to obtain materials for the development of large-scale energy, a lot of them are needed, which is where billions of dollars come from. At the same time, to obtain several kilograms of uranium necessary for the production of nuclear weapons, many such devices are not needed. I repeat, only mass production is expensive.

RG| The IAEA claims that about 40 countries are on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Will the growth of threshold countries continue?

Evgeniy Avrorin | What does a country gain by acquiring nuclear weapons? Acquires more weight, greater authority, feels more secure. These are positive factors. There is only one negative factor - the country is experiencing discontent from the international community. But, unfortunately, the example of India and Pakistan has shown that positive factors prevail. No sanctions were applied against these countries.

The negative factors of possessing nuclear weapons prevailed in countries such as South Africa and Brazil: the first eliminated them, the second was on the verge of creating them, but refused to create them. Even little Switzerland had a program to create nuclear weapons, but it also curtailed it in time. The most important thing that needs to be offered to the so-called “threshold countries” is guarantees of their security in exchange for abandoning bombs. And we need to improve the control system. We need constant international monitoring, and not inspections that carry out one-time checks. Today this system is full of holes...

43 countries of the world, including 28 developing ones, have reserves of highly enriched uranium.

In the late 60s of the last century, Libya asked the USSR to build a reactor, and in the early 70s it tried to buy a nuclear bomb from China. The peaceful reactor was built, but the deal with the Chinese fell through.

Especially for the Yak-38 carrier-based vertical takeoff and landing attack aircraft, whose combat load was extremely limited, a lightweight and compact nuclear bomb RN-28. The “ammunition load” of such bombs on the heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers “Kyiv” was 18 pieces.

The most powerful hydrogen bomb in the world, “Kuzkina Mother” (“product 602”), weighed 26.5 tons and did not fit into the bomb bay of any of the heavy bombers that existed at that time. It was suspended under the fuselage of a Tu-95V specially converted for this purpose and dropped on October 30, 1961 in the area of ​​the Matochkin Shar Strait on Novaya Zemlya. “Product 602” was not accepted for service - it was intended solely for psychological pressure on the Americans.

In 1954, during the Totsky exercises, a real nuclear bomb was dropped on a “strong point of an infantry battalion of the US Army,” after which troops went on an attack through the center of a nuclear explosion. The bomb was called "Tatyana", and it was dropped from a Tu-4A - an exact copy of the American B-29 strategic bomber.

The future first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, also took part in the famous Israeli air raid on the Iraqi nuclear research center in Osirak. During the bombing, at least one non-Iraqi citizen, a French technician, was killed. Ilan Ramon himself did not bomb the reactor, but only covered the planes that struck with an F-15 fighter. Ramon died in the 2003 US shuttle Columbia accident.

Since 1945, approximately 128 thousand nuclear charges have been produced in the world. Of these, the USA produced a little more than 70 thousand, the USSR and Russia - approximately 55 thousand.

The nuclear picture of the world is not limited to the Russian-US biumvirate (see: NVO 09/03/2010 “Nuclear Tandem as a Guarantee of Balance”). As the strategic nuclear forces of the two leading powers are reduced, the strategic potentials of the remaining nuclear states - permanent members of the UN Security Council and countries included in the NPT - become relatively more visible.

Meanwhile, beyond a series of unilateral commitments, data submissions and declarations, they still lack legally binding and verifiable restrictions on their nuclear assets and their development programs.

The “nuclear five” are complemented by four states that have nuclear weapons but are not parties to the NPT. It is with them, as well as with the “threshold” regimes (primarily Iran), that the danger of further nuclear proliferation, the combat use of nuclear weapons in regional conflicts, and nuclear materials or technologies falling into the hands of terrorists is now associated.

FRANCE – “TRIOMPHANTE” AND “MIRAGE”

This country ranks third in the world in strategic nuclear weapons with its 108 carriers and approximately 300 warheads. France tested nuclear weapons in 1960 and is armed with thermonuclear warheads with a yield of 100–300 kt.

The basis of the French forces at present is 3 Triomphant-class SSBNs with 48 M45 missiles and 240 warheads and one boat of the previous Inflexible type project. One submarine is constantly under repair, and one is on maritime patrol. Interestingly, in order to save money, France supports a set of SLBMs only for operationally deployed missile submarines (i.e., in this case, three). Additionally, the French “Strike Force” includes 60 Mirage 2000N aircraft and 24 carrier-based Super Etandar fighter-bombers, capable of delivering a total of approximately 60 air-to-ground missiles to targets. France has no other nuclear weapons systems.

The modernization program involves the commissioning of the 4th Triomphane-class submarine (instead of the last Inflexible-class submarine being withdrawn from service) and the deployment of new M51.1 extended-range SLBMs on all submarine missile carriers, as well as the adoption of a new aircraft system - a Rafael-type fighter. The aviation component of the French strategic nuclear forces belongs to operational-tactical assets according to the Russian-American classification, but is part of the strategic “Strike Forces” of France. In 2009, Paris announced its intention to halve the aviation component, which would reduce the quantitative level of strategic nuclear forces to approximately 100 carriers and 250 warheads.

Having a relatively small nuclear potential, France openly emphasizes a very offensive, even “bully” type of nuclear strategy, which includes the concept of the first use of nuclear weapons, massive and limited strikes against both traditional opponents and “rogue” countries, and more recently against China ( For this purpose, a new extended-range SLBM is being created).

At the same time, the level of combat readiness of the French “Strike Forces” has been reduced, although the details of this are unknown. France stopped producing uranium in 1992 and plutonium in 1994, dismantled fissile material production facilities for military purposes (inviting foreign officials to visit them), and closed a nuclear test site in Polynesia. It also announced an upcoming unilateral reduction of its nuclear weapons by a third.

EASTERN NUCLEAR TIGER

The People's Republic of China conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1964. Currently, China is the only one of the five great powers, permanent members of the UN Security Council and recognized five nuclear powers of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that does not provide any official information about its military forces, including nuclear weapons.

The official justification for such secrecy is that Chinese nuclear forces are small in number and technically incomparable to those of other P5 powers, and therefore, in order to maintain its nuclear deterrent, China needs to maintain uncertainty regarding its strategic nuclear forces.

At the same time, China is the only great power that has officially accepted a commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and without any reservations. This commitment is accompanied by some vague unofficial clarification (probably sanctioned by the authorities) that Peaceful time Chinese nuclear warheads are stored separately from missiles. It is also indicated that in the event of a nuclear strike, the task is to deliver warheads to the carriers within two weeks and strike back at the aggressor.

It is generally believed that a nuclear power that has accepted a commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons relies on the concept and means of a retaliatory strike. However, according to generally accepted estimates, so far Chinese strategic nuclear forces, as well as missile attack warning systems (MAWS), and the infrastructure of combat command and control points are too vulnerable to provide the possibility of a retaliatory strike after a hypothetical disarming nuclear strike by the United States or Russia.

Therefore, the official doctrine of the PRC is interpreted as a predominantly political and propaganda tool (like the Soviet commitment on the no-first use of nuclear weapons from 1982), which does not reflect the real operational planning of strategic nuclear forces, which are actually aimed at a pre-emptive strike in the event of a direct threat of a nuclear attack. Due to the complete secrecy of official data, all assessments of China's nuclear weapons are based on information from foreign government and private sources. Thus, according to some of them, China has about 130 strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. They include 37 old stationary ICBMs of the Dongfang-4/5A type and 17 old stationary medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) of the Dongfang-3A type. Also deployed about 20 new ground-mobile ICBMs of the Dongfang-31A type (Chinese equivalent Russian missile"Topol") and 60 new ground-mobile MRBM "Dongfang-21". (According to other sources, China has 12 Dongfang-31/31A and 71 Dongfang-21/21A IRBMs.) All of these missiles have a monoblock warhead.

A new ICBM of the Dongfang-41 type with a multiple warhead (6–10 warheads) for ground-mobile and railway-mobile launchers (similar to the retired Russian RS-22 ICBM) is also being developed. China has periodically put to sea an experimental Xia-class nuclear submarine with 12 Julang-1 SLBM launchers and is building a second Jin-class submarine with longer-range Julang-2 missiles. The aviation component is represented by 20 obsolete Hong-6 type medium bombers, copied from Soviet Tu-16 aircraft produced in the 50s.

Although Beijing denies the presence of operational-tactical nuclear weapons, there are estimates that China has about 100 such weapons deployed.

In total, China's nuclear arsenal is estimated at approximately 180–240 warheads, making it the 4th or 3rd nuclear power behind the United States and Russia (and possibly France), depending on the accuracy of available unofficial estimates. Chinese nuclear warheads are mainly of the thermonuclear class with a power range of 200 kt - 3.3 Mt.

There is no doubt that the economic and technical potential of the PRC allows for the rapid build-up of nuclear missile weapons across the entire range of their classes. It is noteworthy that, apparently in the context of some cunning political line, in contrast to the extremely “modest” strategic declarations at the military parade on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 2009, China clearly sought to impress the whole world with a rapidly growing military power, including strategic nuclear weapons.

BET ON TRIDENTS

The UK is the most open about its nuclear capabilities. Its nuclear weapons were first tested in 1952, and currently British thermonuclear warheads have a yield of about 100 kt and, possibly, the sub-kiloton class.

The country's strategic forces consist of four Vanguard-class submarines, which deploy 48 Trident-2 SLBMs purchased from the United States and 144 British nuclear warheads. The SLBM set, like that of France, is designed for three submarines, since one is constantly under repair. An additional 10 spare missiles and 40 warheads are in storage. There are unofficial estimates that some SLBMs are equipped with a single low-yield warhead and are aimed at rogue states. Britain has no other nuclear forces.

After heated debate in the middle of this decade, it was decided to begin designing a new type of SSBN and planning the purchase of modified Trident 2 missiles from the United States, as well as developing a new type of nuclear warheads for the period after 2024, when the Vanguard submarines reach the end of their service life . It is likely that progress in nuclear disarmament by the United States and Russia (new and subsequent START treaties) will entail a revision of these plans.

Providing options for limited nuclear strikes against “rogue” countries, London (in contrast to Paris) does not emphasize reliance on nuclear weapons and adheres to the strategy of “minimum nuclear deterrence.” It has been officially announced that nuclear forces are in a state of reduced combat readiness and their use will require a long time (weeks) after the transmission of the order from senior management. However, no technical clarification was given in this regard. The United Kingdom has declared the full extent of its fissile material stockpile and has also placed fissile material no longer required for defense purposes under international IAEA safeguards. It made all enrichment and reprocessing facilities available for international inspection by the IAEA and began work on national historical reporting of fissile materials produced.


Pakistani medium-range nuclear missile "Ghauri"

JERUSALEM NUCLEAR SHIELD

Israel differs from other nuclear states in that it not only does not report official data on its nuclear potential, but also does not confirm its existence. Nevertheless, no one in the world, either in government or private expert circles, questions the presence of nuclear weapons in Israel, and Tel Aviv quite deliberately does not dispute this assessment. Similar to the American line regarding its nuclear weapons on ships and submarines based in Japan, Israel is pursuing a “neither confirm nor deny” nuclear deterrence strategy.

Israel's officially unrecognized nuclear potential, according to the country's leadership, has a very tangible deterrent effect on surrounding Islamic countries and, at the same time, does not aggravate the awkward position of the United States in providing military assistance and political security support to Israel. Open recognition of the fact of possessing nuclear weapons, as Israeli leaders apparently believe, could provoke surrounding Arab countries to withdraw from the NPT and create their own nuclear weapons.

Apparently, Israel developed nuclear weapons in the late 60s. Israeli nuclear warheads are designed on the basis of weapons-grade plutonium, and although they have never undergone full-scale testing, no one doubts their combat effectiveness due to the high scientific and technical level of Israeli nuclear scientists and those who assisted them abroad.

According to expert estimates, the Israeli nuclear arsenal currently numbers from 60 to 200 warheads of various types. Of these, about 50 are nuclear warheads for 50 medium-range Jericho-2 ballistic missiles (1500–1800 km). They cover almost all countries of the Middle East, including Iran, the Caucasus zone and southern regions Russia. In 2008, Israel tested the Jericho-2 missile with a range of 4,800–6,500 km, which corresponds to an intercontinental-class system. The remaining Israeli nuclear warheads appear to be aerial bombs and can be delivered by strike aircraft, primarily by more than 200 American-made F-16 aircraft. Additionally, Israel recently purchased three Dolphin-class diesel-electric submarines from Germany and has ordered two more. Probably, the torpedo tubes of these boats were adapted to launch tactical SLCMs of the Harpoon type (with a range of up to 600 km), purchased from the United States and capable of striking ground targets, including those with nuclear warheads.

Although Israel, for obvious reasons, does not explain its nuclear doctrine in any way, it is obvious that it provides for the first use of nuclear weapons (preventive or preemptive strike). After all, logically, it is designed to prevent a situation, to use the formula of the Russian Military Doctrine, “when the very existence of the state is threatened.” Until now, for 60 years, in all wars in the Middle East, Israel has won victories using only conventional armed forces and weapons. However, each time it was more difficult and cost Israel more and more losses. Apparently, Tel Aviv believes that such effectiveness in the use of the Israeli army cannot continue forever - taking into account the vulnerable geostrategic position of the state, the enormous superiority of the surrounding Islamic countries in population, the size of the armed forces, with their large purchases of modern weapons and official declarations of the need " erase Israel from the political map of the world."

However, recent trends may call into question Israel's national security strategy. In the event of further proliferation of nuclear weapons, primarily through their acquisition by Iran and other Islamic countries, Israel's nuclear deterrence will be neutralized by the nuclear potential of other states in the region. Then there could be a catastrophic defeat for Israel in one of the future conventional wars, or an even greater catastrophe as a result of a regional nuclear war. At the same time, there is no doubt that Israel’s “anonymous” nuclear potential is a serious problem for strengthening the nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime in the Near and Middle East.

ATOMIC HINDOSTAN

India, along with Pakistan and Israel, belongs to the category of states possessing nuclear weapons that do not have the legal status of a nuclear power under Article IX of the NPT. Delhi does not provide official data on its nuclear forces and programs. Most experts estimate India's potential at approximately 60–70 nuclear warheads based on weapons-grade plutonium with a yield of 15–200 kt. They can be placed on an appropriate number of monoblock tactical missiles (Prithvi-1 with a range of 150 km), operational-tactical missiles (Agni-1/2 - from 700 to 1000 km) and intermediate-range ballistic missiles undergoing testing (Agni -3" – 3000 km). India is also testing sea-launched short-range ballistic missiles such as Dhanush and K-15. Medium bombers such as the Mirage-1000 Vazhra and Jaguar IS Shamsher can probably serve as carriers of nuclear bombs, as can fighter-bombers such as the MiG-27 and Su-30MKI purchased from Russia, the latter being equipped for in-flight refueling from aircraft Il-78 is also Russian-made.

Having conducted the first test of a nuclear explosive device in 1974 (declared a test for peaceful purposes), India openly tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and declared its nuclear forces as a deterrent to the PRC. However, like China, India has accepted a commitment not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, making an exception for a nuclear retaliatory strike in the event of an attack on it using other types of WMD. Judging by the available information, India, like China, practices separate storage of missile launch vehicles and nuclear warheads.

Pakistan conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 1998, almost simultaneously with India and with the official goal of containing the latter. However, the very fact of an almost simultaneous test indicates that the development of nuclear weapons was carried out in Pakistan over a long preceding period, possibly starting with the Indian “peaceful” nuclear experiment of 1974. In the absence of any official information, Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is estimated at approximately 60-plus enriched uranium warheads with yields ranging from the sub-kiloton scale to 50 kt.

As carriers, Pakistan uses two types of operational-tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 400–450 km (type Haft-3 Ghaznavi and Haft-4 Shaheen-1), as well as MRBMs with a range of up to 2000 km (type Haft-5 Ghauri "). New ballistic missile systems medium-range missiles (such as the Haft-6 Shaheen-2 and Ghauri-2) are being tested, as are ground-launched cruise missiles (such as the Haft-7 Babur), similar in technology to the Chinese Dongfang-10 GLCM. All missiles are placed on ground-mobile launchers and have a monoblock warhead. Cruise missiles of the Haft-7 Babur type are also being tested in air- and sea-launched versions - in the latter case, apparently, to equip Agosta-class diesel-electric submarines.

Likely air delivery vehicles include American-made F-16 A/B fighter-bombers, as well as French Mirage-V fighters and Chinese A-5s.

Operational-tactical missiles have been deployed to positions within reach of Indian territory (as well as Indian missiles near Pakistani territory). Medium-range systems cover almost the entire territory of India, Central Asia and Russian Western Siberia.

Pakistan's official nuclear strategy openly relies on the concept of a first (preventive) nuclear strike - with reference to India's superiority in general-purpose forces (like Russia in the context of the superiority of the United States, NATO and, in the future, China). However, according to available information, Pakistani nuclear warheads are stored separately from their carriers, like Indian ones, which implies the dependence of Pakistani nuclear deterrence on timely warning of a possible war with India.

Separate storage in the case of Pakistan is of great importance - due to the unstable internal political situation of the country, the great influence of Islamic fundamentalism there (including officer corps), its involvement in the terrorist war in Afghanistan. We also cannot forget the experience of deliberate leakage of nuclear materials and technologies through the network of the “father of the Pakistani atomic bomb” Nobel laureate Abdul Qadir Khan on the global black market.

THE MOST PROBLEM NUCLEAR POWER

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in terms of its nuclear status, is a rather curious legal incident.

From point of view international law The Five Great Powers are made up of the legally recognized nuclear powers under the NPT – “nuclear weapon states” (Article IX). The other three are de facto nuclear states(India, Pakistan and Israel) are recognized as such politically, but are not considered nuclear powers in the legal sense of the concept, since they have never been members of the NPT and cannot join it as nuclear powers under the said article.

North Korea has become another category - a state with an unrecognized nuclear status. The fact is that the DPRK took advantage of the fruits of peaceful nuclear cooperation with other countries within the framework of the NPT for military purposes, committed clear violations of its articles on IAEA safeguards, and ultimately withdrew from the NPT in 2003 with gross violations of its Article X, which determines the permitted procedure for withdrawal from the Agreement. Therefore, recognizing the DPRK's nuclear status would be tantamount to encouraging flagrant violations of international law and would set a dangerous example for other possible violating countries.

However, North Korea tested plutonium-based nuclear explosive devices in 2006 and 2009 and, according to expert estimates, has approximately 5-6 such warheads. It is assumed, however, that these warheads are not compact enough to be placed on missile or aircraft carriers. If these warheads were improved, North Korea could theoretically deploy them on several hundred Hwansong-type short-range ballistic missiles and several dozen Nodong-type MRBMs. Tests of Taepodong-type ICBMs in 2007–2009 were unsuccessful.

If equipped with nuclear warheads, Hwangsong missiles could cover the entire South Korea, adjacent areas of the People's Republic of China and Russian Primorye. In addition, Nodong medium-range missiles could reach Japan, central China, and Russian Siberia. And the Taepodong intercontinental missiles, if their development is successfully completed, would gain reach to Alaska, Hawaii and the west coast of the main US territory, almost all regions of Asia, the European zone of Russia and even Central and Western Europe.